Herbs to increase Cervical Mucus (ie. help fertility)

[Guest guest]

One of my clients was diagnosed as having insufficient Cervical Mucus (CM)

which was " hostile " to sperm. THerefore she is having difficulty getting

pregnant. THe western approach is to give estrogen supplements to increase

CM. She would like to try herbs, but I am not familiar with any that might

increase CM during ovulation.

 

Any ideas?

 

Hillary

[Guest guest]

Hillary

I've been watching for someone to reply to you but haven't seen a

response. As I understand cervical mucus it reflects the state of

the yin or oestrus cycle from menstruation to ovulation and the

application of yin tonics such as Zuo Gui Tang during this preiod

should increase fertile mucus. If however her mucus is hostile to

her partner's sperm that often indicates Liver qi stagnation and

formulae like Xiao yao san are suitable. This may indicate that her

lack of fertile mucus is at least partly due to Heat in the Liver

channel drying her vagina. I would check both aspects as

possibilities.

I hope all becomes clear when the patient arrives! Good luck

Sue Cochrane

 

, acugirlnyc@a... wrote:

> One of my clients was diagnosed as having insufficient Cervical

Mucus (CM)

> which was " hostile " to sperm. THerefore she is having difficulty

getting

> pregnant. THe western approach is to give estrogen supplements to

increase

> CM. She would like to try herbs, but I am not familiar with any

that might

> increase CM during ovulation.

>

> Any ideas?

>

> Hillary

[Guest guest]

Hillary,

 

In my experience (20+ years of doing CM gynecology), the Chinese

medicinals that increase cervical mucus (and the quality of that

mucus vis a vis conception) are the medicinals which correct the

patient's CM pattern(s). However, Chinese medicinal douches are very

helpful adjunctive to internally administered meds and frequently

spell the difference between success and failure in real-life

practice.

 

Most of the time (again in my experience but also supported by the

Chinese gynecological literature), even when the patient manifests

primarily a yin vacuity pattern systemically, locally this means

bitter, cold, heat-clearing, worm-killing meds, remembering that

vaginal dysbiosis is often considered a worm (chong) condition in

contemporary Chinese gynecology. In other words, Alum (Ku Fan), Borax

(Peng Sha), Phellodendron (Huang Bai), Cnidium (She Chuang Zi),

Sophora (Ku Shen), and, interestingly, Schisandra (Wu Wei Zi), the

one med with yin-supplementing properties on this list.

Histologically, we can say that the vagina is one the outside of the

body, and Wu Wei Zi is often used in CM dermatology for the treatment

of dermatological allergies and dermatomycoses. This " dermatological "

use of Wu Wei Zi seems to be part of its unique qi and is not, at

least in my opinion, explained by its standard functions as listed in

B & G (for instance).

 

In my experience, it is wrong to approach this situation from a purely

theoretical one, such as mucus being yin. Or at least mostly

wrong. (In CM, few things are simply right or wrong.) Patient's with

hostile cervical mucus commonly do not display yin vacuity patterns

(although, in individual cases, they may). However, locally, it is

common to find some sort of heat (depressive or damp).

 

In the CM literature, this type of fertility problem is usually

discussed under the heading of " immunologic infertility. " Although

there are not many articles on this type of infertility in the CM

literature, one does come across them from time to time. In other

words, there is a body of literature in Chinese on this topic.

 

Good luck, and keep us apprised.

 

Bob

 

, annedoia@t... wrote:

>

> Hillary

> I've been watching for someone to reply to you but haven't seen a

> response. As I understand cervical mucus it reflects the state of

> the yin or oestrus cycle from menstruation to ovulation and the

> application of yin tonics such as Zuo Gui Tang during this preiod

> should increase fertile mucus. If however her mucus is hostile to

> her partner's sperm that often indicates Liver qi stagnation and

> formulae like Xiao yao san are suitable. This may indicate that her

> lack of fertile mucus is at least partly due to Heat in the Liver

> channel drying her vagina. I would check both aspects as

> possibilities.

> I hope all becomes clear when the patient arrives! Good luck

> Sue Cochrane

>

> , acugirlnyc@a... wrote:

> > One of my clients was diagnosed as having insufficient Cervical

> Mucus (CM)

> > which was " hostile " to sperm. THerefore she is having difficulty

> getting

> > pregnant. THe western approach is to give estrogen supplements to

> increase

> > CM. She would like to try herbs, but I am not familiar with any

> that might

> > increase CM during ovulation.

> >

> > Any ideas?

> >

> > Hillary

[Guest guest]

Patient's with hostile cervical mucus commonly do not display yin vacuity patterns (although, in individual cases, they may).

>>>You also have to remember that it is often only hostile to one partner and not to another. Also the hole issue of hostile mucus is a debatable subject.

Alon